Performance
Even if you like the looks inside and out — which many likely will — there is nothing endearing about the driving experience.
First there's the body-lean issue. When you take a highway off-ramp at speed — which the Consumer Reports’ test does — the GX leans at a significant angle. I don't recall experiencing a lean so extreme since I've been testing cars professionally, which includes most of the past decade.
If you're an attentive and safe driver, you should have no trouble navigating tight corners in the GX. But then you're still left with an anemic 301-horsepower V-8 engine that's saddled by all the weight mentioned above. Its power rating is nearly identical to the 300-hp V-6 MDX, but it's less fuel-efficient. The GX is rated at 15/20 mpg city/highway, while the MDX gets 16/21 mpg.
The GX lumbers down the highway and barely musters a grunt when passing other cars. Brake feel is soft and somewhat mushy, an attribute shared by many Lexus and Toyota models. In a large SUV, though, it's more unsettling.
While the high ride reminds me of driving a truck, the GX rides better than your typical pickup. Because of extensive work to make the GX off-road capable, however, it doesn't sail down the freeway like the larger LX, or like the MDX or Lincoln MKT. It's noisier at highway speeds, too, and takes bumps at slow speeds with more body motion than you'd expect. Again, this is something at which the Lexus LX excels.
To recap, the GX neither rides, accelerates, turns nor brakes very well.
See also:
Interior
The level of luxury inside is pretty high. I found it to be nearly as rich as
the larger, more expensive LX. Standout treatments included a leather-wrapped
steering wheel and dash, with stitching ...
Driving It
Driving Impressions
Comfortable, controllable and quick with either powertrain or drivetrain
combination, the 2011 Lexus GS is an excellent all-around performer that should
please all but the mo ...
Front passenger occupant classification system
Your vehicle is equipped with a front passenger occupant classification
system.
This system detects the conditions of the front passenger seat and
activates or deactivates the devices for front pa ...